In October of 1929, the United States witnessed the crash of the “stock market” (Foner,799) that led to a chaotic downfall of the economy. Although the destruction of the stocks did not directly impact the middle-class yet, it caused more than “26,000” “investment companies” (Foner,800) to lose billions of dollars that they had “invested.” The major corporations that were able to salvage their finances began “laying off workers” consequently leading to “thousands” (Foner,801) of Americans to “search for work.” The fear of poverty led many Americans to desert their homes in the “city” to “grow food for their families” (Foner,801). The sudden flood of American families to the mid-west led to the creation of the “Dust Bowl” (Foner,817) that increased …show more content…
the poverty among the middle class more. The obstacles that many middle-class Americans endured were reflected in “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” by Malcolm X and Alex Haley and “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck. Malcolm X introduces the audience to the hardships he faced growing up in Lansing, Michigan because of his economic state and a race. After his father, Reverend Earl Little, passed away, his family was separated because his mother had a mental breakdown. The insurance, refused to compensate the Little’s for his father’s death and made it look instead like a suicide. Meanwhile, Steinbeck introduces us to Tom Joad, a man who is free after serving four years from man slaughter. After hitching a ride with a truck driver, Joad learns the atrocious state tenant farmers in. The dust bowl has caused many farmers to be evicted from their land and forced to find work in California. Despite the fact X and Joad are dealing with “side-effects” of the Great Depression in different manners, they are forced to deal with issues caused by their economic class. The poverty-stricken characters undergo a transformation that creates inner tranquility to emerge among themselves but their inevitable bloody downfall leads to the audience to understand the hostile lifestyle many middle-class Americans had to experience. A major similarity between Malcolm X and Tom Joad is the relationship they both share with Elijah Muhammed and Jim Casy, their “mentors.” Their relationship with these characters plays an essential role in transforming their immoral tendencies into moral traits.
After Malcolm and his siblings were split up by the state, he soon began learning the horrible injustice African Americans were experiencing by the others. X recalls a memory of his history teacher, Mr. Williams, from Junior High who deemed African Americans as “lazy”, “dumb”, and “shiftless” (X and Haley,30) The overwhelming amount of harassment X would experience because of his “pink poodle” (X and Haley,31) appearance caused him to move in with his half-sister, Ella. With the newly found freedom X gains; he begins to search for a job and eventually gets the position of a “shoe boy” (X and Haley,37) at the “Roseland State Ballroom.” X begins to get his first taste of the illegal life; eventually at the age of twenty X gets sentenced to “ten years” (X and Haley,101) for burglary. X and Haley characterize X’s behavior in prison as “Satan” (X and Haley,100); the withdrawal he was experiencing led X to being “miserable” (X and Haley,101) and “evil-tempered.” The seven years X served allowed for major “intellectual” (X and Hayley,104) and “religious” (X and Hayley,111) growth to occur; he was introduced to Elijah Muhammed and his teachings. X was introduced to the teaching of “the Honorable Elijah Muhammed” (X and Haley,107) through his brother Reginald. Through his fascination to learn more about the Islam, X’s personality begins to transform he no longer consumes “pork” (X and Haley,112) and has begun to utilize the prisons library. X’s introduction to Elijah Muhammed is detrimental because he is introduced to his purpose on Earth.
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during 1929 the stock market was the best way to make money, most of american population invested in the stock market, and back then the government assured people it was the best time to buy houses since the stock market was booming. Many people bought houses, but then stock market crashed in 1929, and it happened overnight, and it didn't end there either. After it crashed it continued to decrease due to investors still attempting to trade, causing the stock market to go further into a depression. After the crash, wall street went into a panic and continued to trade more, wiping out 13 million clients (A&E networks). Some people were able to withdraw their money from the stock market before things got too bad, but the majority of american population lost their money and went bankrupt. Many people blamed president hoover for the depression because he refused to help and believed the government should not be responsible for the stock market crash. Since the majority of the population went bankrupt, they were evicted of their homes due to no money able to pay bills. People came home from work to find their houses locked and their belongings outside, they were forced to live on the streets and live in tent camps. Because of president hoover's wide unpopularity, people began calling homeless tent camps “Hoovervilles” and an...
The autobiography of Malcolm X written by Alex Haley tells a wonderful story of a boy who grew up to be a legendary hero. Malcolm Xs character continuously develops throughout the entire novel, allowing the reader to be engaged in his story. The beginning of the text begins with the story of the past, when his mother was pregnant, and instantly the author brings in violence that include the Ku Klux Klan and the description of fear is already being portrayed. Chapter one is titled "nightmare "in this chapter not only does the reader already acknowledge struggle but there is also a background of his father. Over the course of chapter you see Malcolm Xs character develop mostly because his entire perspective constantly changes due to being around
The 20th century was a definitive time period for the Black civil rights movement. An era where the status quo was blatant hatred and oppression of African Americans, a time when a black son would watch his father suffer the indignity of being called a “boy” by a young white kid and say nothing in reply but “yes sir”. Where a Black person can be whipped or lynched for anything as little as not getting off the sidewalk when approaching a white person, for looking into their eyes, or worse, “for committing the unpardonable crime of attempting to vote.” In the midst of the racial crises and fight for social equality were Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. who despite their difference in philosophies were “icons of social justice movement both in the United States and around the world” .
Stephen King and Malcolm X both say the key to being a good writer is studying, and practicing. To be good at something you have to take the time, you do not just become an amazing writer overnight. The effort and time you put in will be the reason for your success or your failure. They both say to be a great writer you not only have to write often you have to write every day. You also need to read everything and all the time, Stephen King says you need to read for at least four hours a day. Malcolm X read some days for up to 15 hours or more. This was not only because he was in prison and had so much free time, but because he wanted to. It was his choice to read all the time, to learn as much as possible. To be a great writer you need to want
In “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” book, Malcolm X suffers to courageously advocate for the rights of blacks. He was a human rights activist. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history. Malcolm focuses on how racism against blacks dehumanizes them. The Caucasoid race around Malcolm typically read him as one thing but human, and Malcolm’s need to correct this perception drives his fight for racial equality. He experiences delicate racism in his youth from his family and faculty, United Nations agency treat him otherwise from others as a result of him being black. Although his foster folks and a few of the people he encounters in class square are nice to him, Malcolm thinks these folks treat him nicely so as to point out however unprejudiced they are. He feels that they 're mistreatment of him as a result that he 's completely different, as if he were a “pink poodle.” At the start Malcolm successively dehumanizes the Caucasoid race as revenge for his own subjugation. In Boston, he displays his white girlfriend Sophia as a
Malcolm X’s encounter with his English teacher became a major turning point of his life (Cone 45) , not only, Malcolm X did not have a clear sense of his identity, Cone suggested that he was not even in a supportive environment where he could search for it and fight openly against others who denied him that right. It represented the end of his attempt to become integrated into a white society. Malcolm X believed that no matter what he did he would
“The dust storms that swept across the southern plains in the 1930s created the most severe environmental catastrophe in the entire history of the white man on this continent.”(Location 445.) Had the area never been over worked and farmed to produce mass quantities of wheat and other crops the dust storms would never had happened. This is much like the economical blunder that caused the stock market crash of 1929 resulting in the Great Depression. Had the banks not been so eager to grow and approve credit and loans, essentially over working the money market, at an unusually high rate the stock market most likely would not have crashed. The causes of both the dust bowl and stock market crash were caused by the American society’s greed for wanting more than what they needed to sustain their way of
During the 1920’s, America was a prosperous nation going through the “Big Boom” and loving every second of it. However, this fortune didn’t last long, because with the 1930’s came a period of serious economic recession, a period called the Great Depression. By 1933, a quarter of the nation’s workers (about 40 million) were without jobs. The weekly income rate dropped from $24.76 per week in 1929 to $16.65 per week in 1933 (McElvaine, 8). After President Hoover failed to rectify the recession situation, Franklin D. Roosevelt began his term with the hopeful New Deal. In two installments, Roosevelt hoped to relieve short term suffering with the first, and redistribution of money amongst the poor with the second. Throughout these years of the depression, many Americans spoke their minds through pen and paper. Many criticized Hoover’s policies of the early Depression and praised the Roosevelts’ efforts. Each opinion about the causes and solutions of the Great Depression are based upon economic, racial and social standing in America.
Throughout each stage of his existence there are a multitude of symbols that are made evident. Haley shows how status played a major role in developing Malcolm’s self-worth. The author explains how a “conk” hairstyle tied him to the white world and showed him his own internalized racism. The writer also demonstrates how eyeglasses, a watch, and suitcases played a major role in his final transformation to the great leader that he made himself into. All of these symbols work together through the captivating tale of his life, and illustrates the many things that helped to shape him as a man. All things considered, Haley reveals just how critical symbols are in not only Malcolm X’s lives, but in everyone’s lives. Ultimately challenging his readers to look at their own lives in an attempt to discover what their personal symbols are. Malcolm X’s life had many challenges and setbacks, nevertheless, he discovered who he wanted to be and rose to the challenge, proving himself an important and influential
Malcolm set everything in motion when he converted to the Nation of Islam, an African American movement that combined elements of Islam with Black Nationalism. While in prison, his siblings persuaded him to write to the Nation’s leader, Elijah Muhammad. X was uneasy at first, but came around shortly. Malcolm wrote Muhammad a one-page letter each day in curiosity about the Nation of Islam. Muhammad replied as the “Messenger of Allah” welcoming Malcolm into the “true knowledge” (Haley 195). Before X’s release in nineteen fifty-two, he went under an intense self-educated program by reading books in the prison library, and even memorizing an entire dictionary. He also sharpened his forensic skills by participating in debate classes. When Malcolm was released from prison he had his first official visit with Muhammad in Chicago, he devoted his life to the Muslim ministry. Soon Malcolm began traveling and preaching with other ministers. He picked up their techniques and devoured their knowledge. Malcolm quickly rose in the Nation of Islam ranks becoming minister of Temple number eleven in Boston and Muhammad’s most effective recruiter and spokesman. Soon after, X was rewarded minister of Temple number seven in Harlem, New York, the largest and most prestigious after the Chicago Headquarters and eventually named the National Representative of the Nation of Islam, second in rank behind Muhammad himself. Under X’s lieutenancy the nation claimed a membership of five-hundred thousand, as the numbers grew X’s teachings began to change; he wanted to make a vast difference. He spread the glorious history of African Americans. He urged the Nation to become more active in the civil rights protest instead of being a critic on the side. X articulated the Nation’s racial doctrines of evil
The years berween 1929 and 1933 were trying years for people throughout the world. Inflation was often so high money became nearly worthless. America had lost the prosperity it had known during the 1920's. America was caught in a trap of a complete meltdown of economy, workers had no jobs simply because it cost too much to ship the abundance of goods being produced. This cycle was unbreakable, and produced what is nearly universally recognized as the greatest economic collapse of all times. These would be trying years for all, but not every American faced the same challenges and hardships. (Sliding 3)
When Malcolm hit the eighth grade his English teacher Mr. Ostrowski asked what he would like to do for a career when he was an adult. Malcolm said that he would like to become a lawyer. Mr. Ostrowski’s retort would be burned into Malcolm’s head for eternity. “A lawyer-that’s no realistic goal for a nigger. You need to think about something you can be.” Malcolm left Lansing and went to Boston to live with his sister Ella, because she had gotten custody of him and life in Lansing was unbearable. Malcolm stated “Whatever I have done since then, I have driven myself to become a success at it.” Malcolm was now mad at the world for the hardships it had given him, and he was determined to not let it get in the way of him being what he wanted to
October 29th, 1929 marked the beginning of the Great Depression, a depression that forever changed the United States of America. The Stock Market collapse was unavoidable considering the lavish life style of the 1920’s. Some of the ominous signs leading up to the crash was that there was a high unemployment rate, automobile sales were down, and many farms were failing. Consumerism played a key role in the Stock Market Crash of 1929 because Americans speculated on the stocks hoping they would grow in their favor. They would invest in these stocks at a low rate which gave them a false sense of wealth causing them to invest in even more stocks at the same low rate. When they purchased these stocks at this low rate they never made enough money to pay it all back, therefore contributing to the crash of 1929. Also contributing to the crash was the over production of consumer goods. When companies began to mass produce goods they did not not need as many workers so they fired them. Even though there was an abundance of goods mass produced and at a cheap price because of that, so many people now had no jobs so the goods were not being purchased. Even though, from 1920 to 1929, consumerism and overproduction partially caused the Great Depression, the unequal distribution of wealth and income was the most significant catalyst.
Do you know what it’s like to live in a cardboard home, starve, and raise a family in poverty? Unfortunately, most Americans in the 1930s went through this on a day-to-day basis. In 1929 the stock market crashed. Many people lost their life savings; they invested everything they owned in a failing stock market. The country was falling, everyone needed strong leadership and help from the government.
Interviews with individuals from across the economic spectrum about the heady years after the Wall Street Crash in 1929 reveal a socially transformational period of time. Unlike previous busts, the sheer hopelessness and economic damage was almost unheard of. Furthermore, another difference when compared to previous economic downturns is the incredibly productive economy that had developed as industrialization resulted in mass-market products like automobiles and washing machines becoming accessible to many Americans in the roaring 1920s. The United States’ leadership community, whether in business or politics, was totally ill-equipped to handle such a change in circumstances when, before the Great Crash, production growth was considered the penultimate method to increase prosperity, as exemplified by the spread of Taylorism and also President Hoover’s inept attempts to stabilize the economy at the turn of the 1930s. In turn, many individuals began to view the economy as a rigged system that benefitted the well-connected and